Day 2510

The roofers came today and my trash got emptied. I'd call that a success. I probably didn't even need to go up on the roof to show the repair crew where the damage was. It was pretty obvious. The roofers admitted that they'd been having some problems with the material they initially coated my roof with. you're not the only one with this problem," the foreman told me. This material had only one job" to keep out water. "We're discovering that the elastomer begins to dissolve if it's under water for any length of time," the guys told me. Oops. Hopefully, they used something tough and durable this time. I'd really like to get this problem solved.

I wonder if the sanitation department had a talk with the driver on our route. For the second week in a row, all the trash on our street seems to be getting collected. I have a new lucky spot to place my rolling cart on Thursday evening. I hope that nobody starts parking their car here. My special spot is one of the few places on the street without overhanging tree limbs that might confuse the robotic arm on the truck.

I didn't get to go out for breakfast this morning, but this was a small price to pay for getting the roof fixed. I found some Jimmy Dean sausage to go along with the toaster waffles in the freezer and had a lovely breakfast, punctuated by the sound of Dash barking at me. He seemed mad that there weren't any bananas this morning. I hate to miss my Friday breakfast outings. They are a little oasis of calm in a hectic week.

I downloaded Microsoft Word and Excel for my new iPad and then discovered that they are practically useless unless I also subscribe to to Office 365. I hate these subscription models that everyone is going to. I have to subscribe to my anti-virus software. My website development platform requires an annual subscription. Then there's Hulu and Netflix. It adds up. Software subscriptions are just like leasing a car or renting an apartment. I'd really prefer owning this stuff.

It looks like the big news of the day was that the FBI reopened their investigation of Hillary Clinton.  I find it hilarious that after using sex in an attempt to bring down Trump, the Clinton campaign may ultimately be derailed by Anthony Weiner of all people. Jeez, if Huma Abedin is such a powerful person, what on earth was she doing sharing a computer with her pedophile husband? Trump certainly doesn't have a monopoly on bad judgement in this election. There is plenty to go around. I still think we need a do-over. If this election were a movie, people would say it was too farfetched to be believable.

Dot seemed to be feeling better today. She certainly was vocal and active. Every time I tried to take a shower, she'd start barking for attention. This wasn't aimless random barking either. Most of the time when I got her up and took her outside, she promptly peed or pooped. I didn't get to take a shower until late in the afternoon, but I was glad to see Dot's mind working normally again.

Janet has to go into work tomorrow morning, so the dogs will just think it's another workday. That's probably for the best. Dot and Dash don't like surprises. I'm starting to feel the same way.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1448

I wonder if any of you would even notice if I occasionally substituted a post from a previous year for my daily missive? Pride prevents me from doing this, but to tell the truth, I wouldn't know the difference myself. The days all run together. After 25 years of walking a succession of Dalmatians in the park while writing a steady stream of endlessly similar advertising messages, I not only forget what day it is, I forget what year it is.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't enjoy days like today. I just have trouble telling them apart. The falling leaves look the same as they always do in early December. The dogs still remind me that it's time for dinner precisely at 4:30 PM every day. The Version 14.1.4 of Microsoft Word that I opened to complete this morning's writing assignments seems remarkably similar to the very first version I bought for my Mac in 1989. Jeez, I've been sitting in the same Herman Miller Aeron Chair for so long that I've worn out three of the comfortable mesh chair backs.

Today certainly wasn't a day to break the mold. I came up with an interesting new landing page for a very old website that I initially designed in 1997. I wrote another article about luxury goods. Before the end of the year, I will have written over 500 of these articles. I fix my oatmeal and fruit. I make the bed. I count the hours and I wonder why.

For diversity, I had a Greek salad instead of my usual Kale. The dogs and I walked over a small hill instead of around it. Even though there was a pretty sunset, I took a picture of a leaf instead. This is really all the diversity I need. I'm going to the gym tomorrow. I'll make some oatmeal with strawberries again for breakfast. I'll watch the business channel and check my stocks while I'm eating. The dogs will sleep most of the day. David Byrne said it best way back in 1981. "Same as it ever was..."

Gretta is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1407

Another wayward website client came back to the fold today. It's nice to have the business again, although I'm not sure how long this is going to last. I guess I really shouldn't waste too much time fretting about the permanence of clients. I'm not very sure how long any of them are going to last.

The Apple product announcement today was interesting. The new operating system is free again, which is a nice change from the recent past. The Mac operating system always used to be free in the old days. There a danger in free though. If I don't have to pay for an upgrade, I'm much more likely to install it before I'm ready and screw up everything. I seldom install a new operating system because I really need the new features. It's a lot more likely that I'll install it on a day when I'm really bored. That's always when I get into trouble.

I'd like to get one of the powerful new Mac Pro desktops that are coming out in December. Do I need something this awesome? Probably not. If I still did a lot of video editing, I could pretend that I really needed this thing. Since I just use Microsoft Word most of the time, it's a bit of overkill. If I got this futuristic computer that looks like a shiny black trash can, I'd need a new monitor too. The new ultra high resolution 4K monitors this thing supports probably cost more than the computer. Oh, well. It's something to think about. Maybe I'll get a big video job between now and December.

Since I've been having trouble syndicating the blog to Facebook and Twitter lately, I decided to  install HootSuite. This was probably a mistake, since every time I've installed something to reduce the time I spend on social media, it has always seemed to increase it instead. Maybe HootSuite will simplify things though. I spend about an hour a day keeping up with a laundry list of social media accounts and that's way too much.

The dogs would much rather have me spend my time with them. Now that the weather has gotten cooler. we've started taking long, meandering walks along the shoreline. Both dogs like to smell things near the water's edge and I know Dash is going to fall in the lake one day. Dot is a bit more sedate, but she definitely has more energy than she did during the Summer heat. For the time being, we're all enjoying ourselves.

Much to my surprise, I managed to make it back to the gym today. Maybe Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday is doable after all. If I could find the time to workout three time a week, I might actually start to see some progress.

Dot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day